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Title: Ilse Last-Mathis papers
Identifier/Call Number: 1988.1072
Contributing Institution:
Tauber Holocaust Library
Language of Material:
Multiple languages
Container: Archives Box 10
Physical Description:
1.0 Folder(s)
Date (inclusive): 1945-1947
Abstract: The Ilse Last-Mathis collection documents the experience of a family of Dutch Jews under Nazi occupation and after the war
ended. The collection includes material related to post-war reparation requests, as well as artifacts and a children’s booklet
contrasting the behavior of Dutch citizens who co-operated with the Nazi occupation with those Dutch who resisted.
Ilse Last-Mathis papers - 1988-1072, Tauber Holocaust Library - JFCS Holocaust Center, San Francisco, California
The collection is comprised of documents relating to the emigration of Ilse Last-Mathis and her daughter Marianne Last from
Amsterdam to the United States. Two documents are certificates from the Beheersinstituut, the Dutch government body which
acted as custodian of the property of enemies as well as of missing persons, nearly all of them Jews. Other documents include
a certificate from the Chamber of Commerce and Factories for the North Netherlands and from the Population Registry of Amsterdam,
as well as a document confirming the death of Jacob Last in Sobibor death camp. Also included are letters of support and recommendation
for Ilse Last-Mathis. Materials are in Dutch and English.
Included in the collection is a Dutch-language booklet – Gek en Wijs tydens Seyss -- apparently written for children, which
contrasts the behavior of Dutch citizens while under Nazi occupation. Published in 1945, the booklet compares those who collaborated
or complied with German orders with those who resisted.
The collection also includes a yellow “Jood” star badge, issued to Jews under Nazi occupation.
This collection provides insight into the experiences of Jews living in the Netherlands during the Nazi occupation and reflects
the efforts of survivors to document their wartime experiences with official government bodies in order to gain restitution
or to emigrate.
Ilse Mathis was born in Breslau, Germany on September 21, 1910. She was married to Jakob Last who was born in Mannheim, Germany
in 1901. Their daughter Marianne was born on September 2, 1934 in Amsterdam. The family was living in Amsterdam when the Nazi
occupation of the Netherlands began. During that period, Jakob Last was arrested by Nazi occupation forces; he died in Sobibor
on May 21, 1943. Ilse Last-Mathis and her daughter Marianne were sheltered by Dutch friends and survived the Holocaust. Mrs.
Last first cousin and the cousin’s husband lived in Reno, Nevada, where Mrs. Last and Marianne Last emigrated. No information
on the experiences of the Lasts once in the United States is available.
There are no restrictions to use for this collection.
Conditions Governing Access note
There are no restrictions to access for this collection.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Last family
Mathis family
Amsterdam (Netherlands)
Anti-Nazi movement –- Amsterdam
Certificates
Correspondence
Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945) -- Amsterdam
Jews -- Amsterdam
Stars of David -- Netherlands
World War, 1939-1945 -- Amsterday